Yuuzora a la Carte
by XiroPaine
Summary: Going home is always better where there's someone waiting for you. A retrospective songfic based on Ritsu's character image song of the same name.


A pleasant orange hue tinted the underside of scattered clouds that filled the twilight sky as Ritsu exited the building, the door behind her closing softly as it was drowned with the blissful ambience of the outside world. The young sous chef breathed the fresh air in deeply before releasing a much needed sigh of relief for she had finally finished her shift at the restaurant she worked at.

It was only a small family owned joint with the kitchen led by an ex-gourmet chef from Osaka. He had retired from the bustling city life to stay closer with his family, trading his high paying job as a 5-star restaurant chef for a humble mom & pops café. Like any small business, the restaurant had a rough start, but soon enough word of the high quality cuisine quickly spread and it was only natural that the joint would become rather popular with the local community.

When the news finally reached Ritsu, who was hoping to lead a successful culinary career herself, the drummer practically begged the owner to take her under his wing after learning of his credentials. The older chef was a little annoyed at first and rejected her outright, insisting that he could handle running a small family restaurant kitchen on his own, but he was eventually weakened by her persistence and impressed by her enthusiasm. Even his wife agreed that an extra hand in the kitchen would help with their growing patronage; and so in the end, he agreed to become her mentor. The hours were long and the pay was nothing lavish, but the knowledge and satisfaction of working in something she enjoyed doing was enough for the young sous chef to power through her hectic work days.

But now that she was off the clock, Ritsu took her time walking home from the restaurant. It was at least a half hour trip on foot and the brunette could easily take the train down a stop as faster mode of transport, but she always chose to walk. Ritsu relished these walks as it gave her a chance to recharge. The brunette was usually energetic and enthusiastic, as she usually was when on the job; yet, she still had her limit. Working 10-12 hour shifts for the majority of the week would drain even the most valiant of knights.

The culinary warrior allowed herself to be absorbed by the serenity of her walk home, whistling a new melody that she promised herself she would write down later on. The golden tint in the sky and autumn breeze made her surroundings all the more calming as she let herself relax for a moment after another hectic day. Ritsu had only gotten a few blocks down from the restaurant when she caught smell of what seemed to be curry sauce being prepared. Across the way from where she was walking, a kitchen window was open, the scent of the cooking meal to escaping from within and riding the wind.

 _Wonder what I'll make for dinner tonight_ , Ritsu thought to herself. Even if she had spent her whole day in the restaurant's kitchen, there was something more endearing about cooking at home. Especially when there was someone special at home to cook for. The thought of her love brought a smile to the brunette's face. Mio said she had a story deadline today, didn't she? Probably skipped lunch again to finish it. _Maybe I'll cook something special for her tonight._

The two had been together since elementary school, and though the they were currently striving towards their own careers, they were still an inseparable pair. Whatever obstacles were placed before them, the two childhood friends found a way to get through it together. As seniors in high school, Mio practically had a sure shot into any college she wanted but Ritsu had no direction on what to do after graduation. There was fear that their graduation would mark their inevitable separation.

Luckily, that inevitable separation failed to become reality. Along with their closest friends and bandmates, Yui and Mugi, the Houkago Tea Time seniors all miraculously managed to get accepted to N. Women's University. Mio had easily decided on the Department of Literature, a study that suited the lyricist well. Ritsu, on the other hand struggled finding a path she could commit to but eventually chose the Department of Food and Nutrition, as one of her only talents other than music was cooking. Though they were separated due to their respective departments, the drum and bass pair still managed to find time for each other during their free time as well as continue playing with the rest of Houkago Tea Time as a part of the university's Light Music Club. After graduating college, the band mutually agreed to split up to focus on their professional careers but promised to stay in touch. When Mio became a fiction writer for an online literary magazine and Ritsu landed her job at the restaurant, the physical separation between them only grew.

Though it was only that: physical separation.

Both women were career driven and spent hours chasing after their dreams, but they would always have the other to come back to when they were beaten and tired. Work hours were long and their time actually spent together was few and far between. But even the seemingly simplistic moments they spent together made their individual struggles worth the long and hard hours of work.

So every night, Ritsu made the effort to prepare food so they could have their evening dinner together, even if it was simply reheating leftovers or heating water for instant ramen. They would exchange stories of how their work was progressing while sitting at the floor table of their shared apartment's living room and eating their meals.

At the end of the day, they would cuddle and fall asleep, exhausted from their jobs yet content with being able to fall back into the other's arms. Sometimes, on nights Mio would be glued to the computer screen until the early hours of the morning working on a story, Ritsu would wake up from the lack of shared body heat and come into the extra bedroom that had been turned into a home office. She never nagged the writer to finish her work and come to bed, but pulled up an extra chair so she could rest her head on the latter's lap. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions, having her body sprawled out between two chairs with her feet still planted on the ground to avoid falling off, but the cook didn't mind so long as she felt the relaxing aura her girlfriend emitted as she lulled back to sleep. Then, when Mio finally found a suitable stopping point, or when she began to worry about Ritsu's ill-suited sleeping position, she would lead the two of them back to their shared bed for their much needed sleep and cuddles.

Rounding the next corner on her walk, Ritsu made a detour towards a small convenience store to pick up ingredients. As she internally went through several options of what she would prepare for her girlfriend that evening, her eyes idly followed a red dragonfly caught in the breeze. It struggled against the gusts momentarily, but soon found found its rhythm and danced away with the wind.

 _Oh, I could make hamburger steak! But I made that last week, didn't I?_ The cook scratched the back of her head and furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think of another option. She stopped momentarily in front of the store's entrance, refusing to enter until she had committed to what meal to cook that night. Several other dishes came up, but for some reason the hamburger steak was the one to stick in her mind. Finally convincing herself to stick with her decision, she entered the building to buy the ingredients she did not already have stocked at the apartment. _I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we have it again. Mio and I survived that one week solely on instant ramen when we first got the apartment back in college._

It was during their senior year of university, a little over a year after the two finally started dating, that the two decided to rent an apartment together. While living in the dormitories held its perks, Mio and Ritsu thought they would try to spearhead into full adulthood and get used to full financial independence before having to be thrown out into the real world. The first month after moving in was especially rough. Even though their parents paid for the security deposit and first month's rent, Mio and Ritsu spent most of their savings to furnish their new abode. It was a necessary and well worth investment, and though they were strapped for cash until their next payday, the apartment had quickly become a comforting space both could call home.

When Ritsu exited the store with a plastic bag in hand, a bus passed by with an ad of the new Over the Starlight album being released soon. Accompanying the text was the profile of a certain twintail-haired guitarist the drummer knew very well. Ritsu smiled, proud of the accomplishments of her kōhai. Azusa Nakano was scouted out by an entertainment company during her senior year of high school. She initially wanted to refuse the offer, as all she wanted was to be reunited with the rest of Houkago Tea Time; but with the encouragement of everyone from both HTT and the Wakaba Girls, Azusa accepted the contract that would change her life for years to come. Her seniors were lucky enough to have returned from university just in time to celebrate her graduation and even accompanied her to the train station to see her off before she went to chase her musical dream.

Yui and Mugi also had dreams they wanted to chase. After the rest of the band broke up at the end of college, Yui went on to become an elementary school music teacher. She was such a fun-loving person that all her students loved her, and she would occasionally play HTT songs on Giita for them. Mugi, on the other hand, inherited the Kotobuki company and was often busied by its internal operations. Though she was the sweetest person outside of work, she oversaw the company with an iron fist.

The five of them still met up every year at one of the Kotobuki villas for vacation and still jammed together. Usually someone would come with a new song written and they would learn it together. Their live performance days were over, but that didn't stop them from playing with each other and for each other. They would always record the songs to keep for personal records, holding just as much sentiment as all the pictures Mio liked taking of the group with her camera. Sometimes when Ritsu came home from work, she could hear some of those songs playing from the home office.

The young sous chef was now closing in on the apartment complex she and Mio shared. Other people were also on the street, most likely coming home from work or university themselves. There were a few couples smiling as they held each other's hands walking down the sidewalk. Ritsu couldn't help but smile as well as she took the beauty of her surroundings. It was already late autumn and one could already feel the impending winter chill in the wind, but it didn't bother the drummer in the slightest. Climbing the stairs to the second floor, her heart only swelled more and began bolting up two stairs at a time. She almost tripped at the landing, but quickly caught herself. She was already fumbling for her keys as she walked the way to her front door.

Entering the apartment always made Ritsu sigh in relief, as if she was entering a sacred place. Leaving her shoes at the door, she set the bag containing the ingredients for the hamburger steak on the counter for the time being. She then quietly made her way to the home office, where she new a certain dark-haired writer would be working. However, when she peeked in from the doorframe, there was nobody occupying the leather office chair. Ritsu furrowed her eyebrows and squinted. The desktop was up showing the previous members of Houkago Tea Time standing in front of Mount Fuji. It was the trip the group had decided to take last winter before Azusa had to leave for her tour in Europe. The lack of a word document on the screen meant that Mio must have already finished the story she had been working on for the last few weeks.

Suddenly, the drummer's vision went dark, something warm covering her eyes. It was soon accompanied by something warm pressing onto her back. "And I thought I was going to be the one to surprise you."

From the darkness, a sweet laugh could be heard and soon enough Ritsu was given back her ability to see. Arms enveloped the shorter woman's neck from behind. "You always surprise me though. I just thought I'd return the favor. You know I can hear you a mile away when you bound up the stairs like that."

Ritsu could only release a cheapish chuckle. "Hehe, got me there. Is that why you keep the window open?"

"No, the fresh air just helps me think better." Mio released the hug and went to close the window. "I just emailed the new story I've been working on. I almost thought I wouldn't finish it in time."

"Then we should celebrate! I bought ingredients to make hamburger steak tonight. Go take a bath and I'll start cooking."

Ritsu made her way back to the kitchen and began prepping the meal. She rolled up the sleeves to her long-sleeved shirt. As she worked, the melody she had come up with on her walk came back to her and began to hum it as she chopped up onions. Lyrics began to accompany the melody while she sauteed the onions.

 _Zettai, kyou wa hanbaagu ni shiyou senshuu yori mo jouzu ni…_

Mio came out from her bath soon after, now dressed in a blue and white baseball tee- Ritsu bought it for her after she grew out of the red and white one she regularly wore back in high school- and a comfortable pair of joggers. "Need help?"

"No, I should be okay. Did you want some tea? I heated up water in case you wanted to drink some while I finished cooking." Ritsu was already taking the kettle off the stove.

"Sure," Mio answered as she took a seat on a stool that was situated on the counter looking into the kitchen. The chef soon set down a tray with a teapot and teacup in front of her before turning her back again to knead the hamburger steak. Ritsu continued repeating the melody that was now stuck in her head.

 _Aa aibiki oniku ippai konete ai mo ippai komete…_

"That sounds new? Did you just make that up?" Mio asked as she sipped the tea. She loved watching her girlfriend cook, and though she would always ask to help, the writer knew better than to disturb the chef when she was in her element.

"Huh?" Ritsu pulled herself from her thoughts and turned to her girlfriend. "Uh, yea. Kinda came up with it while I was walking home and I guess it's stuck in my head now."

The drummer gave a wide grin, only to be returned with a warm smile from the bassist.

 _Daisuki na hito no tame._


End file.
